In the wake of the Vatican consistory where he was created cardinal, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, along with Bishop William Lori of Bridgeport, Conn., chairman of the bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, called for immediate action to support the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act. The proposed amendment, Senate Amendment 1520, faces an uphill fight in the U.S. Senate, where it is expected to come up for a vote the week of Feb. 27.

The legislation will ensure that those who participate in the health-care system “retain the right to provide, purchase or enroll in health coverage that is consistent with their religious beliefs and moral convictions.”

In a Feb. 22 letter, the two Church leaders asked their fellow bishops to instruct the faithful to register their concern with their representatives.

The full text of the letter follows:

Dear brother bishops,

Since we last wrote to you concerning the critical efforts we are undertaking together to protect religious freedom in our beloved country, many of you have requested that we write once more to update you on the situation and to again request the assistance of all the faithful in this important work. We are happy to do so now.

First, we wish to express our heartfelt appreciation to you, and to all our sisters and brothers in Christ, for the remarkable witness of our unity in faith and strength of conviction during this past month. We have made our voices heard, and we will not cease from doing so until religious freedom is restored.

As we know, on Jan. 20, the Department of Health and Human Services announced a decision to issue final regulations that would force practically all employers, including many religious institutions, to pay for abortion-inducing drugs, sterilizations and contraception. The regulations would provide no protections for our great institutions — such as Catholic charities, hospitals and universities — or for the individual faithful in the marketplace. The regulations struck at the heart of our fundamental right to religious liberty, which affects our ability to serve those outside our faith community.

Since Jan. 20, the reaction was immediate and sustained. We came together, joined by people of every creed and political persuasion, to make one thing resoundingly clear: We stand united against any attempt to deny or weaken the right to religious liberty upon which our country was founded.

On Friday, Feb. 10, the administration issued the final rules. By their very terms, the rules were reaffirmed “without change.” The mandate to provide the illicit services remains. The exceedingly narrow exemption for churches remains. Despite the outcry, all the threats to religious liberty posed by the initial rules remain.

Religious freedom is a fundamental right of all. This right does not depend on any government’s decision to grant it: It is God-given, and just societies recognize and respect its free exercise. The free exercise of religion extends well beyond the freedom of worship. It also forbids government from forcing people or groups to violate their most deeply held religious convictions and from interfering in the internal affairs of religious organizations.

Recent actions by the administration have attempted to reduce this free exercise to a “privilege” arbitrarily granted by the government as a mere exemption from an all-encompassing, extreme form of secularism. The exemption is too narrowly defined, because it does not exempt most nonprofit religious employers, the religiously affiliated insurer, the self-insured employer, the for-profit religious employer, or other private businesses owned and operated by people who rightly object to paying for abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization and contraception. And because it is instituted only by executive whim, even this unduly narrow exemption can be taken away easily.

In the United States, religious liberty does not depend on the benevolence of who is regulating us. It is our “first freedom,” and respect for it must be broad and inclusive — not narrow and exclusive. Catholics and other people of faith and good will are not second-class citizens. And it is not for the government to decide which of our ministries is “religious enough” to warrant religious-freedom protection.

This is not just about contraception, abortion-causing drugs and sterilization — although all should recognize the injustices involved in making them part of a universal mandated health-care program. It is not about Republicans or Democrats, conservatives or liberals. It is about people of faith. This is first and foremost a matter of religious liberty for all. If the government can, for example, tell Catholics that they cannot be in the insurance business today without violating their religious convictions, where does it end? This violates the constitutional limits on our government and the basic rights upon which our country was founded.

Much remains to be done. We cannot rest when faced with so grave a threat to the religious liberty for which our parents and grandparents fought. In this moment in history we must work diligently to preserve religious liberty and to remove all threats to the practice of our faith in the public square. This is our heritage as Americans. President Obama should rescind the mandate, or at the very least, provide full and effective measures to protect religious liberty and conscience.

Above all, dear brothers, we rely on the help of the Lord in this important struggle. We all need to act now by contacting our legislators in support of the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act, which can be done through our action alert on USCCB.org.

We invite you to share the contents of this letter with the faithful of your diocese in whatever form, or by whatever means, you consider most suitable. Let us continue to pray for a quick and complete resolution to this and all threats to religious liberty and the exercise of our faith in our great country.

Why is Catholic Services of he Archdiocese of Mobile accepting money from the Sebilius led HSA to provide ” Navigator Services on Obamacare ” along with many planned parenthood locations ? Is this not considered scandalous ? I hope to read a very public announcement that this money will not be accepted by them and any other Catholic organization.

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is
for good people to do nothing.” - Edmond Burke,
politician and statesman
Fight as if everything depends on you, pray as everything
depends on God! - anonymous

Posted by Turner on Friday, Mar, 9, 2012 12:30 AM (EST):

NO “strayfeline” The Lord warned us about your style of watered down “lukewarm” prayers. He will vomit them out of his mouth. Choose your side “strayfeline” ... No more dilly dallying around. As for me and my family we will choose and vote life. God help you if you knowing what you know now still support the tainted meat that is “Obamacare”.

“Obamacare” INSTITUTIONALIZES the Murder of first the young then the old with YOU standing there under the lynching tree looking at the multiple victims; paying for and handing out the ropes; so pick a side and pray that every Bishop asks that the litany of General Intercessory Prayers of the Faithful at each Mass include the following type of Prayer:

May all Senators & Congressmen but especially Catholic Senators & Congressmen vote unanimously to abolish this evil that is Obamacare .... let us pray to the Lord.
All: Lord, hear our prayer.

Posted by Brian on Saturday, Mar, 3, 2012 7:01 PM (EST):

What about the rights of your employees? Universal Healthcare is just that: Universal and not private. By accepting government money, how can you make this argument? I believe our rights as Catholics should be respected, but I don’t believe we should impose our beliefs on non-Catholics who might work at our institutions. In other words we also need to respect the rights of others. And furthermore, but using inflammatory language, we cheapen the real plight of Catholics and Christians around the globe that face deadly persecutions. Please people, have compassion! No on is forcing you to use contraception!

Posted by Bob Rowland on Saturday, Feb, 25, 2012 3:56 PM (EST):

I suspect this was a ploy by Obama to abrogate the First Amendment to keep moral restrictions from interfering with his government policies for licentiousness, abortion, and abomination Attacking religion is usually the first action of a Socialist tyrant. If he is reelected, we must wonder what freedom the American voters deserve to lose next. Please God help rid our nation of this tyrant and scourge.

Posted by Beverly Gentile on Saturday, Feb, 25, 2012 12:22 AM (EST):

The time has come for ALL Catholics to stand up and be counted, band together and fight for Freedom & Liberty. This isn’t about Contraception or a Women’s health issue….that’s only what they want us to believe.

Posted by Mike Ready on Friday, Feb, 24, 2012 5:31 PM (EST):

It’s about time. As a faithful Catholic and K of C that supports our priest and religious I commend your efforts here with this issue. My concern is why now? Where were you and the outrage when abortion was legalized in 1973? Also on the issue of giving Holy Communion to Catholic pro death legislators? Mum was the word then. Now it when that there is a dollar sign attached to an issue,they seem to be all in a tizzy.

Posted by strayfeline on Friday, Feb, 24, 2012 9:58 AM (EST):

Dear veritas, ...“add a prayer”... Let’s say All the people in attendance don’t agree - some pray for, some against, some undecided; therefore their real presence doesn’t count! Which prayer does God answer? How about ‘may all senators and representative vote for what is best for the common good God’ ... when we speak a language that is not understood or speak words that are not agreed on, we don’t gather, we chase away. ...be careful what you pray for…

Posted by Patrick Buckley on Friday, Feb, 24, 2012 12:01 AM (EST):

I live in Washington State with 2 Catholic U.S Senators (Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray) who as Democrats have supported pro-abortion policies for years. Our Democrat Governor, Christine Gregoire, also a Catholic, recently sponsored and signed a bill allowing Gay Marriage. I have yet to see the former or current Archbishop (Huntausen and curently Sartain) ex-communicate publicly 3 corrupt politicians who are CINO’s (Catholics in Name Only) Until the Catholic parishioners see some decisive public castigation of these apostates, regardless of the political consequences, Catholic parishioners will not take the apostolic authority of the Church seriously.

I felt that the Catholic church was too quiet during the last election, I only hope that we will continue to speak out against this culture of death. I strongly feel that any christian , who is strong in their belief could not vote for this group , who is in power at the present, they are anti GOD , anti constitution and anti life.

Posted by Paul on Thursday, Feb, 23, 2012 1:59 PM (EST):

After calling Obama’s lie, the so called compromise, “A first step in the right direction”, I call this statement by Cardinal Dolan too little, too late. The church leaders should be using this moment to teach about the errors of the culture of death in addition to our loss of liberty.

Posted by Dan on Thursday, Feb, 23, 2012 12:08 PM (EST):

I commend Cardinal Dolan and will of course contact my legislators.

But the Cardinal needs to do one thing immediately, and that is to clean out the filth in his own stables, that filth being the ongoing scandal of homosexual “masses” at St Francis Xavier Church in NYC. If he doesn’t act on this soon he will be tremendously weakened in his fight against Washington, for they will sense quickly he is one who will back down.

thank you for including private employers who object to paying for abortion inducing drugs,sterilization and contraception. i am one of these employers and support your actions in support of senate bill 1520.

Posted by veritas on Thursday, Feb, 23, 2012 12:56 AM (EST):

Each Bishop acting individually or together could and should add a Prayer for the speedy repeal of the HHS Mandate to the litany of General Intercessory Prayers of the Faithful in each Diocese. Something along the following lines could be drafted:

This intercessory prayer could be left in place and repeated each Sunday and at every daily Mass until the HHS Mandate is tossed on the dung heap of history.

Posted by Sal on Wednesday, Feb, 22, 2012 8:29 PM (EST):

How do we answer critics who claim that the bishops are “manufacturing” this crisis since 20 or more states have long required Catholic Colleges and Catholic Hospitals to offer much the same kinds of insurance coverage?

I need a good answer

Posted by teddy beare on Wednesday, Feb, 22, 2012 4:38 PM (EST):

Been there, done that. Talk to one personally, too. Don’t know how far it will go, considering my congressmen all all Democrats in RI!

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